Racketeer in control at Betcorp

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Following a boardroom exodus that has left it with just
one director, Betcorp, Australia's third-largest wagering company by
turnover, is believed to be in the hands of its largest shareholder, Bill
Scott, a convicted racketeer and fugitive from US authorities.

Betcorp, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, owns the
Darwin-based Sportsbet and World Wide Tele Sports (WWTS), a US sports
betting business based on the Caribbean island of Antigua with 120 staff
and more than $1 billion in turnover.

Statements released to the stock
exchange offered no reason for the abrupt departure of its chief
executive, Richard Barker, and chairman John Priest.

Mr Barker, who
resigned on Thursday, was formerly the director of investment banking at
N.M. Rothschild & Sons, while Mr Priest, who was previously the
finance director for Coca-Cola Amatil, resigned last week. With the
departure of another executive director, Simon Noble, in August, Betcorp
is down to one director and was forced to suspend itself from trading
yesterday after a voluntary halt to trade was called on Wednesday.

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Scott, the man believed to be instrumental in the boardroom exodus, is
a bookmaker from Toledo, Ohio, who was jailed for racketeering in 1984,
according to The Wall Street Journal.

Another US business publication,
Business 2.0, said he was now a fugitive from US authorities after being
charged with illegally taking online sports bets in 1998. Scott has based
himself beyond the reach of US authorities in Antigua, where he set up the
WWTS business before its acquisition by Betcorp in January last year. The
deal delivered Scott a 27 per cent stake in Betcorp.

Antigua has
become a well-known haven for online gambling operations due to its
relaxed regulations and lax extradition laws.

But despite strong
growth in online betting, Betcorp has struggled this year after
downgrading its first-half results in April from a $12 million profit to a
$2 million loss.

Betcorp's WWTS business, which accounted for the vast
majority of its revenues last year, was blamed as the main culprit for the
loss and led to the departure of Mr Noble last month. Betcorp said the
Antigua- based Mr Noble departed for "personal reasons."

The recent changes are
believed to be attempts by Scott to wrest back control of the business
after the recent lacklustre performance.

Betcorp shares which traded
at 59 cents before the profit downgrade was announced in April, last
traded at 16.5 cents on Thursday.

Betcorp said its shares would remain
suspended until it appointed at least two new directors and "additional
explanatory information detailing the company's current circumstances can
be provided to the market".